Pastor's Pen - March 6, 2016

Beaten, betrayed, and hung from a cross, he cries out to his Father to forgive us. He cries out for my salvation and covers me in his mercy. I weep at the price paid for my eternity, humbled by his graciousness, and long to live his command: “ Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36). (from a reflection by Jennifer Hubbard)

I WAS IN PRISON AND YOU VISITED ME – (MT 25:36)
As we continue in this Jubilee Year of Mercy, this month we look to the Corporal Work of Mercy “Visit the Imprisoned.” When I was in my third year in seminary I had a societal ministry that brought me to the Milwaukee County Jail every Wednesday. I don’t know what I was expecting to find, but what I discovered was a group of people who were all very human. Most of those I spoke with were trying (in their lives outside) to live within a social structure that was very difficult. They were trying to help their families and got caught doing something wrong, something they wouldn’t have been doing if they were in a different environment. They were good people otherwise (at least in my humble opinion).

To view those imprisoned as a throwaway society is to forget the fact that we are all members of Christ, whether we are locked up or free. Inmates should not be forgotten or regarded as beyond hope. If we call ourselves disciples of Jesus we are asked to look at ways to be the presence of Jesus to them. (Reflection from the Archmil.org website which also offers ways to potentially live out this Corporal Work of Mercy)

We ourselves may be unable to enter into prisons, but even if we cannot fulfill this Corporal Work of Mercy in concrete manner, we still should make a serious effort to live it. This can be done by intentions in our prayer. Those in prison have usually sinned much, and they need much prayer. In many cases the salvation of their souls is in a precarious state of uncertainty. They are also often quite forgotten. Cut off from our attention, they may receive little in prayers from us. They are the poorest of the poor in that sense. Perhaps we may find one day that this work of intercession was one of our most important works. (from a reflection by Fr. Donald Haggerty)

Please visit the Archmil website (http://www.archmil.org/Our -Faith/Year-of-Mercy/ReflectingCorporalMercy.htm) to see some of the many organizations and efforts that are around the archdiocese that minister to the imprisoned, victims, and those released. I have recently been exposed to Project Return and the Restorative Justice Programs-both of which, I feel, are great programs designed to help those involved.

Fr. Chuck